The Present Joy
The Ambassador's Handbook • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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This next set of verses is all about joy in the midst of suffering. For the last several verses, we’ve been looking at the future inheritance of the Christian. It is what we have to live for. It is prize that is set before us that motivates us as we run. That alone should be motivation to endure any trials we come against.
Peter spends the next few verses applying that future inheritance to our present circumstances, showing what kind of result it should bring. He touches on different topics, but the main point is clear.
2. The Present Joy (1:6–9)
This little section begins with rejoicing over our inheritance, explains yet another reason we should be joyful, and then returns to rejoicing.
i. Because of a future inheritance, Christians should have present joy. (1:6a, Psalm 95:1–6, Galatians 5:22, Philippians 4:4, Matthew 5:11–12)
“Wherein” is referring back to the previous three verses. We saw God’s abundant mercy, our lively hope, the resurrection of Jesus, an incorruptible inheritance, and the protection of God’s power. Verse 6 starts by calling back to those things and saying, “In those, you greatly rejoice.” And why shouldn’t we? That is the proper reaction.
“Greatly rejoice” is an interesting term in light of the Bible’s tendency of understatement. Think of Joseph revealing himself to his brothers as one example.
And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence.
When it says “greatly rejoice,” Peter isn’t just throwing adjectives around like we do today. This was the highest kind of joy. This was an overflowing of love to God for all that He had given them. We see this kind of joy expressed often in the Psalms.
O come, let us sing unto the Lord: Let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, And make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. For the Lord is a great God, And a great King above all gods. In his hand are the deep places of the earth: The strength of the hills is his also. The sea is his, and he made it: And his hands formed the dry land. O come, let us worship and bow down: Let us kneel before the Lord our maker.
Praise ye the Lord. Sing unto the Lord a new song, And his praise in the congregation of saints. Let Israel rejoice in him that made him: Let the children of Zion be joyful in their King. Let them praise his name in the dance: Let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp. For the Lord taketh pleasure in his people: He will beautify the meek with salvation. Let the saints be joyful in glory: Let them sing aloud upon their beds.
Joy is also listed in Galatians as a sign of walking with the Spirit (Gal 5:22). These Christians were walking with God and were so overjoyed in Him that they could not help but have it spill out. This is just speculation, but perhaps their joy was so great that Peter heard about it wherever he was writing from, which is why he said this about them. Such joy would be a tremendous testimony to the unbelieving world.
Then we see the critical word—though. Their joy was full because of the blessings of God, but something was happening to threaten that joy.
ii. Temporary trials will bring faith of eternal value. (1:6b–7, 1 Peter 5:10, 2 Corinthians 4:17; Psalm 119:75; James 1:2–4; 1 John 5:4, Job 23:8–10, Isaiah 48:10; Matthew 25:21, 1 Corinthians 4:5, John 12:26, Daniel 12:3, Romans 2:7–10; 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17)
Verse 6 gives the first hint of the purpose for this letter’s writing. We, by looking ahead, already know what that is. But while it has overshadowed our study thus far, their persecution has not be directly mentioned. Now it comes into focus. They were “in heaviness through manifold temptations” (which just means many kinds of trials).
Notice how Peter prefaces any description of their suffering with the phrase “now for a season.” Though alienation and mockery was wearing them down, Peter wanted them to know that one day they would live in a city where the King will infinitely love them, and all its citizens would fellowship with them in perfect harmony.
Their persecution may have lasted the rest of their lives. We don’t know for sure. But whether their steadfastness saw them through to a time of more freedom, or whether it only got worse, it was still merely a season of their eternal lives.
But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.
For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
This is the first thing we should remember in trouble. It may last the rest of our earthly lives, and it may truly be hard. Many people are going through legitimately heavy trials that are not just going to go away, and I don’t want to discount that. But in comparison with eternal glory, they are passing troubles.
Next the phrase, “if need be.” Or in other words, “If it is necessary.” Of course, the implication is, “It is necessary,” which reinforces the point we saw last week that persecution is fully in God’s control and is designed for the strengthening of the saints. God knew that their faith needed refining and used the affliction to accomplish that goal. Peter is echoing the words of the psalmist:
I know, O Lord, that thy judgments are right, And that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.
There is a conveniency and fitness, nay, an absolute necessity in the case, for so the expression signifies: it must be; therefore no man should be moved by these afflictions. For yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto, 1 Th. 3:3. These troubles, that lie heavy, never come upon us but when we have need, and never stay any longer than needs must.
When we study such exalted passages full of glorious promises and a future free of pain, they give hope and joy. Sometimes we can say with Peter’s audience that we greatly rejoice, and we feel like singing out those psalms of praise. We rise above the world and get a glimpse of heaven.
But what happens when you leave church and find yourself back in the middle of all the problems you you forgot while at church? Your praise and glorying in God didn’t make them go away.
That’s exactly what we see here, as Peter says they are “in heaviness.” This is encouraging in its own way. When you don’t have that overflowing joy at every second while you’re down in the trenches, it’s easy to feel guilty. Shouldn’t I rejoice in the Lord while a family member is in the ICU?
Yes, but that doesn’t mean grief has no place. Jesus wept, as the verse famously says. These Christians, though they greatly rejoiced were in heaviness.
Sadness; sorrow; dejection of mind; depression of spirits.
Webster’s 1828 Dictionary
They could have depression of spirits even as their spirits rose in hope because of their inheritance in heaven. It’s how Paul could write “Rejoice in the Lord alway” (Phil 4:4) and say that he has “great heaviness and continual sorrow” in his heart for his unsaved countrymen (Romans 9:1–2). These things are not in contradiction.
For example: Maybe you have a hobby or job that you love. For me, it’s writing, but you can insert whatever it is for you into this example. Just because I love writing doesn’t mean I’m always bursting with happiness as I work on a project. A lot of the process involves tremendous frustration as I try to untangle a plot or arrange my thoughts in a coherent order. I’m annoyed with a book far more often than I’m full of joy about it. But there’s still the underlying love of writing that keeps me going through the frustrating times.
As we are living for Christ, there is a foundation of immense joy that carries us through life. We can live lives full of hope because of our future inheritance, even while heaviness overlays that hope.
Their grief and joy were about different objects; they might be in heaviness by reason of present afflictions, and rejoice in hope of future glory; they might grieve as men, and rejoice as saints; sense of suffering might affect them, and yet the faith of better things coming relieve them.
What is causing this heaviness? “Manifold temptations,” which, as I said earlier, means many kinds of sufferings. One commentary says this term encompasses “sickness, accidents, wars, or any other negative experience, along with persecutions and tribulations.” That makes sense in light of what we studied regarding the kind of persecution they faced. The manifold temptations that brought heaviness were probably just the normal things of the Christian life. The same kind of things we face today.
This next verse is a big one. I’d consider it the key verse, or at least a key verse, of the book. This verse well summarizes the main focus of this opening doctrinal section.
It starts with “That.” Whenever you see a connective word like “And” or “But” or “Therefore” or “That,” you always look back to see what it’s talking about. I’ve made note of that several times now. Here, “that” is referring back to the necessity of their trials. In the previous verse, Peter said, “If need be.” Now he’s saying, “It must be, so that this will be accomplished.”
He starts with another description of the persecution they are enduring. Manifold temptations are coming upon them, but they are not just a grab-bag of assorted hard times that God threw together at the last minute. You see the phrase used here, “the trial of your faith.”
A trial is simply a test. It can be an experiment to test the limits of something. It can be a legal trial that tests the veracity of a claim. It can also be, according to Webster’s 1828 Dictionary:
Afflictions or temptations that exercise and prove the graces or virtues of men.
Webster’s 1828 Dictionary
You see the actions, “exercise” and “prove.” Exercise speaks of strengthening. Proving speaks of testing what is already there to make sure it is real. There’s a reason underground churches in closed countries thrive more than most public ones in America—the trial of their faith is proving it by cutting away everything unnecessary and exercising it by increasing their reliance on God.
My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
Once again, the apostle shows that suffering as a Christian is a purposeful, controlled thing that is completely in the hands of God. It is not just how life goes sometimes. It is one major way God sanctifies us.
The trial is also “much more precious that of gold, that perisheth.” This description may be referring to the trial itself, or the refined faith that comes from it, but either way the same point is made.
This is a huge statement when you think about it. Gold is among the most coveted materials in the world. It has defined economies for millennia and has motivated men to do many great and wicked things. We use the phrase “worth its weight in gold” to describe something highly valuable. It’s the very picture of wealth.
Even more so considering the next phrase. “Though it be tried with fire.” We’re talking about the most refined and purest gold.
Yet, it has one flaw. It perishes. Even the purest gold will not survive the destruction of this world.
On the other hand, pure faith will last forever and is much more precious to God than any gold. It’s an idea that’s hard to understand—the king of the universe places such a high value on our faith? But it reveals the character of God as One Who always seeks us out and is always working out our good.
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
If gold, though perishing, is yet tried with fire in order to remove dross and test its genuineness, how much more does your faith, which shall never perish, need to pass through a fiery trial to remove whatever is defective, and to test its genuineness and full value?
Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; And backward, but I cannot perceive him: On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: He hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him: But he knoweth the way that I take: When he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.
Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.
All of that was just a description of their trials. Now Peter gives the reason for the necessity of their faith. [read the second part of the verse]
When our faith is found out, it will be found as exactly what it really is. There will be no more pretending or hiding anything. No more masks or appearances. Only the raw truth. The trial of our faith will make our faith into something we’re not ashamed for God to find.
It will also bring us rewards. We see three things a tested faith will bring: praise, honor, and glory. Some people think that this means God will receive praise, honor, and glory for our faith, and that’s certainly true. In heaven, we will be giving all glory to God for our sanctification. But I believe this verse says the tried Christians are the ones who will receive praise, honor, and glory.
First, praise. Have you ever done something for someone where you put a lot of work in? No matter what else you feel or what anyone says, the praise and satisfaction of the recipient is enough to justify the work put into it.
That should be how we live and think of our faith. We do it not for the praise of men, but for the praise of God, who will reward us at the end of time if we have been obedient and faithful.
Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.
I believe this is talking about our future ruling with Christ and rewards in heaven. The word can mean “an expression of respect” or “dignity; exalted rank or place” (Webster). God will respect us but not in the way humans do; human respect usually goes to a superior. So it must be primarily referring to how we will be exalted in position as we serve in Christ’s kingdom.
If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.
We will not be made God, but we will be made like God, reflecting His glory. And though this idea seems weird at first, we do know wise people and soulwinners will shine in heaven.
And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.
To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:
Jews and Christians have been waiting for thousands of years for God to return and judge the earth. But one day, He will come. Jesus will appear and reward every man according to his works. What kinds of works are we doing that we will be rewarded for? Will our faith be rewarded with praise and honor and glory?
iii. Those trials should bring increased joy because they deliver the end of salvation. (1:8–9, John 20:29, James 1:2, Acts 16:22–25)
Verse 8 is fairly self-explanatory. The challenge of the Christian life is that the one we should love most, we cannot see. It’s not easy to have a relationship with someone you have never met face-to-face, which is why faith without sight is commended here. Peter may also have been thinking of what Jesus said in the upper room.
Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.
The next phrase means largely the same thing. Though we do not see Him now, we believe. We walk by faith and not by sight.
With the end of verse eight, we’re back to rejoicing. In verse six, it was because of the great inheritance we have, and now it’s because of the person of Jesus.
Here is the climax of the experiential joy that results from faith. God accomplished salvation through the work of His Son Jesus Christ. So the focus of a believer’s faith is not on abstract knowledge but on the person of Christ.
This rejoicing is so great that they couldn’t even put it into words. They could not describe all the greatness of Jesus; you simply had to experience it. This is also interesting because it shows why they were facing persecution. If they were not rejoicing in Christ and just living like any other pagan, they would not be targeted and persecuted. But since they were delighting in the Lord and by extension obeying His commands, the pagan world hated them.
What is Jesus doing for them that they are rejoicing in so much? Giving them the salvation of their souls. Though we usually think of salvation as only justification, it is a three-part process: justification, sanctification, and glorification. All of these are still part of the overall idea of salvation.
It says they are receiving—present tense. This was something they were at that moment gaining, which makes me believe salvation here refers to their sanctification. They were receiving the sanctification promised to them through the trials they were facing. Thus, really, the reason they rejoiced is because God was working His will in them.
There’s a pattern of praising God because of and despite persecution in Scripture.
My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them. And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.
Ultimately, these verses show how we should respond to what we studied last week and also how we should respond to persecution. Though heaviness and grief will come, we have no reason not to be joyful in Christ all the time.
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
